Battles of the Hell-hound
by NightRrain
Summary: 2000 years ago a battle broke out between two powerful sisters. One sister was sent to the afterlife, leaving behind a powerful sword that no one but her could control. Roughly 2000 years later Kagome discovers the sister's sword, only to be affected by it's demonic power. With the help of a cat and her gang, she is determined to put an end to a battle that will soon arise.
1. A Dancing Cat Appears

Kagome carefully handed Inuyasha his bowl of ramen, which Inuyasha paid no mind to Kagome's cautiousness and snatched the bowl out of her hands. He took a quick sip of the hot broth, grabbed his chopsticks from beside him, and went to town on the hot noodles. All day the group of six had traveled slowly through the chilly fall weather. And as the orange sun began to sink behind the hills they decided to rest for the night. Sango handed Miroku his bowl of noodles and then poured hot water into her bowl. Kagome served noodles to Shippo as well who was bouncing with joy. Kirara had gone off on her own to hunt for dinner.

"Ok!" Inuyasha broke the peaceful silence as he wiped his mouth away with his sleeve. "Why are we going to a stupid village four days of a walk away just to see a damn sword!"

"Because it's not normal Inuyasha. It's been causing the village problems and they can't get rid of it." Kagome replied as she stirred her noodles.

"Just take it to a sword smith so they can melt it! C'mon how hard is that!" He retorted.

Kagome sighed tiredly. "You never listen Inuyasha. If you listened to the gossip you would know the sword can't be removed from it's sheath."

"I don't listen to gossip Kagome, that's a girl's job."

Kagome angrily stared at him and he immediately knew what was going to happen if he didn't fix himself right away. "I mean we listen to gossip too just not as much as girls ok!"

"A sword that cannot be removed from it's sheath most probably has a barrier surrounding it," Miroku said. "It could be a demonic sword... someone is clearly trying to keep this sword locked away."

"It would make sense. If what villagers say is true, this thing most likely is demonic," Sango added.

"Then what are we going to do with it?" Inuyasha asked.

"Well," Kagome began to say, sounding uncertain, "I thought we would try to get rid it for them."

Inuyasha shook his head and shoved noodles into his mouth. He washed it down with the remainder of the hot soup and once more wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "Kagome, you need to learn to stop helping people so much."

She huffed in response, "Excuse me! If I didn't help people I probably wouldn't have helped you when you were pinned to a tree!"

"True." Inuyasha simply shrugged and laid back onto the cool grass. He crossed his arms behind his head and crossed one leg over his other leg. "I'm gonna get some shut eye so don't bother me!"

"Good night, Inuyasha." Kagome said softly, but he simply grunted in response.

Inuyasha was clearly tired as he had fallen asleep within ten minutes. Kagome was happy that Inuyasha was finally getting some much needed rest after Naraku was killed. Ever since his death, Inuyasha seemed more at peace with himself and life. She could understand, after all no one had to be on tipy-toes all the time. Miroku and Sango were next to fall asleep along with Shippo cuddling up to Kirara once she had returned from her hunt. Kagome on the other hand was having trouble falling asleep. She could feel a very strong demonic presence, yet it was slight at the same time. She hoped this would not be coming from the sword but she had a feeling it was. Nonetheless, time passed and the feeling had not gone away. She was agitated at this point and stood up to take a walk in the cool night air. "Oh!" She quickly mumbled to herself and walked back to camp to fetch her bow and arrow. She most certainly didn't want to go into the night alone without any protection. With her weapon in hand she began to her walk into the forest again.

With more time passing and with her prancing in the forest nothing was easing her discomfort. In fact it had gotten worse. Dread, anger, and sadness were beginning to set in. She was relentlessly fidgeting with the string on her bow. A headache was beginning and her chest was feeling too heavy to continue breathing. Why on earth was she feeling like this? Had she gotten food poisoning from the food? Could this be the sword's aura affecting her? It couldn't be as this village was still a good two days away. Suddenly leafs on the floor began to break. Kagome could only hear them break and crack as loudly as if a glass vase was shattered on the floor. Over and over these noises bothered and were aching in her ears. That's when she finally noticed that she was not alone and quickly positioned an arrow onto her bow. She pulled back and pointed in all directions, trying find the source of the terrible noise ringing in her ears. Without warning two cold hands wrapped around her head and tightly covered her ears. Kagome screamed and dropped her weapon and clawed at the cold hands. She tried wriggling herself out of the hold but the hands held her firmly in place.

"Stop."

The whisper in her ears froze her entire body. Her breathing was raged with force and she felt sweat covering her forehead. "You are a strong Miko but you are a weak human," the whisper continued, "ignore the sword. You can feel its aura and you can hear it talk to you. Drown out all you feel that is dread."

Kagome squeezed her eyes shut and ignored all the dread she was feeling. Slowly she could feel her chest lighten up again and the cold night air made her shiver. Her heighten hearing quickly died away and she could hear nothing but empty ringing. But, she still felt that faint dread from before. The cold hands unwrapped away from her ears and she brought her arms up against her chest. She had to admit that she felt as if she had just ran a marathon twice.

"Tell me you are not going to retrieve that sword, Miko." A man much taller than her and Inuyasha walked in front of her and stood there silently. He was dressed in all black with a red sash around his waist. His eyes were a beautiful orange-reddish color that glowed in the dark. His hair was black and unusually short, cleanly swept to one side. He was quite tall and slender, yet had a perfect built upper body.

Kagome blinked multiple times, trying to register who was the man in front of her. He kinda looked like...a cat? "Um who are you? I know you're a demon..." He didn't seem dangerous like most demons she sees. He seemed rather calm, almost too calm. His aura was more peaceful rather than demonic. This would explain why she couldn't feel him sooner.

He tilted his head slightly to one side and shot a grin at her. "Oh I'm just a cat roaming out at night. I'm Raion by the way."

"A demon cat! Wow I've never seen another demon cat other than Kirara! But you're human, I-I mean you look human!"

He chuckled at her. He was happy to know that the distraction kept her from listening to the damn sword. "Yes, I'm a Bakeneko-"

Kagome muffled a laugh with her hands. He glared at her. "Don't you dare." He said.

She burst out with her laughter. "I'm sorry," she said in between laughs, "I thought a Bakeneko liked to go out at night and dance with a napkin on his head."

"I don't do that daily, only on every other night when I get drunk."

By now she was laughing her heart out. Her face was turning red and tears were running down her cheeks. "You look so mighty!" She giggled, "I can never see you as a cat dancing with a napkin on your head!"

"Ha ha ha, yes it's very funny. Now Miko, let's be serious. Why are you going to that village to retrieve that sword?"

Suddenly those words brought back the dread. She went emotionless and stared off into space. "Hey!" He yelled at her, quickly snapping her out of her trance. She shivered again as a cold gust of wind hit her. He bent towards her eye level and said, "You need to stop listening to that sword. It's going to kill you if you don't."

"How can it be the sword when we are so far away? How do you even know about the sword?"

He lifted his hand and pointed to his ear, looking quite saddened and bothered. "Because I can hear it just like you. Not everyone can hear it. But those who can have mostly left this world very quickly with the sword's words embedded in their soul." _And only those who have true rage in their heart can hear it..._

Kagome felt her own dread this time. He was right in everything he said to her. The sword spoke to her in a trance yet when she comes out of it she forgets what it said. But she can feel it still, faintly hearing it whisper from a far to her. It's almost as if it's beckoning her to come to it. "You best stay away from it Miko. You can't handle that sword what so ever. I can't handle it myself which is why I refuse to get near it."

"Then it's something extremely demonic and powerful isn't it?" She murmured. "Tell me why that sword is so demonic. I am not going to let a whole village die because of some stupid sword! I am going to destroy it no matter what!"

Raion looked on with amazement. _Might this truly be the only human who can withstand the power of the sword? It can't be, she gets affected so easily by it. She clearly doesn't know what she's up against with_. He sighed at her and said, "Miko, that sword has seen more blood and death in 50 years than in my entire 3000 years alive. The sword by now is more like a demon ready to come alive, except this one won't go out dancing at night with a napkin on it's head."

"Why is the sword so demonic, Raion. Tell me!" She slightly stomped her foot. "Tell me or I'll scream until Inuyasha comes here and makes you tell us what you know. You're telling me things that are just confusing me more."

He chuckled at her stubbornness and her threat. "That sword has been in many battles with a powerful demon who was the only one able to wield it. Have you ever heard about the Battle of the Blood Sisters ?"

_Uh-oh...maybe history class does come in handy more than I thought. But who the heck will travel to the past to use this knowledge? Apparently only me!_ "No I haven't." She said softly and defeated to him.

Raion wrapped his arm around her small shoulders and turned her a bit facing to the northern mountains. "Do you see that mountain? Where the moon slightly seems to fit perfectly when it rises in the u shaped mountain? Roughly 2000 thousands years ago that mountain had a perfect point. That u shape in it was caused when two powerful demoness sisters became wrapped in their own battle for power. There's a cave in there where the sister who died in this battle lays...hoping one day to come out and eat your heart and soul rahhhhh!"

Kagome pushed him away, annoyed by him. "Really! Is that what really happened?!"

"No," he chuckled, "but a sister really does lay there in peace...I hope. Anyway, I saw when a human not too long ago find the cave and steal the sword from the sister." He began to scratch his chin, "I'm surprised she didn't come back from the dead and kill him."

"So, this demonic sword belonged to one of the sisters? Why didn't the other sister take back the sword and destroy it or at least hide it better?"

"See," he turned and began to walk away, "that's an issue she chose not to involve herself in just as I do. The sword holds power beyond this world but it's so problematic, it's not worth having."

"Wait, where are you going?" He wasn't going to leave her hanging with more questions just like that was he?

"I'm going to go catch a mouse or something, even dance a bit with a napkin on my head." He stopped and turned his head to her, "Oh and um, if you choose to go get this sword just know it's a death wish for you and your companions."

With a jump into the trees he was gone. Kagome stood there even more confused than before. He left her with more questions and thinking about it even more she knew he had some kind of involvement in this so called battle. If her calculations are right, he was roughly 1000 thousand years old when this occurred. But how much of it is true? He seemed so sly and crafty that she didn't trust him. Yet he was charming enough to to settle her nerves and drown out the sword. Speaking about the sword, she was starting to feel it or hear it or whatever the heck she felt. She gathered her weapon from the floor and made a run back to camp before she fell into another trance.

When morning came Inuyasha woke up to find Kagome asleep on his chest. Not something unusual to him but also not quite normal. He sat up slightly and immediately spotted her bow in one of her hands and the quiver of arrows slung across her back. His breath got stuck in his throat, what had she heard or seen last night that prompted her to get her bow and fall asleep on him for protection? More importantly why hadn't he heard or felt it? And what was that smell? He picked up a couple strands of her dark brown hair and sniffed it. A cat!

"Kagome," Inuyasha spoke softly, shaking her awake. "Kagome wake up."

She groaned and buried her face into his chest, "Shut up, leave me alone. I'm not talking to you..."

"What," Inuyasha replied confused. "It's me Kagome! I'm Inu-"

"I said shut up!" She screamed and shot her head up and raised her bow into the air, ready to smack him with it. Inuyasha flinched and threw himself back away from the bow. "What the hell Kagome!"

She was breathing with rage as her eyes were bloodshot, staring down at him. Inuyasha felt his heart break a bit, she had the same look on her face as Kikyo did whenever they fought. She was actually uncannily to Kikyo at the moment. "K-Kikyo!?"

Kagome screamed in protest at Miroku tried to pull the bow out of her hand, dragging her through the grass as he did. Miroku had woken up the second Kagome had screamed. Shippo yawned and rubbed the grit out of his eyes. "What's going on?" he asked.

Suddenly the smell of cat was in the air as Inuyasha lifted his nose to smell. "I smell a cat around here!" He stood up and unsheathed his sword. "And not the good kind either."

Miroku managed to take the bow out of Kagome's hands and she went to cover her ears, squeezing her eyes shut. "It won't stop talking to me!" She yelled through her tears as she began to cry. "It's telling me horrible things and it won't stop! Make it stop Inuyasha please!"

Inuyasha lowered his sword and bent towards Kagome on ground. He wrapped her in a hug and squeezed her tight. "Kagome, what's happening? That sword is still too far away, how can you be affected by it? And what the hell is it saying?"

"This isn't good," Sango said as she ran to Kagome and also embraced her. "Shh Kagome it's ok, relax and tell us what's happening."

Kagome sobbed and grabbed onto Inuyasha tighter. "All night that thing has been telling me to kill everyone. It's been showing me things of what it has done...how many souls and blood it contains and the wrath it holds towards everything...it just won't stop..."

"She needs to get away from that sword as far as she can. Now that it's been unearthed no doubt thousands of human and demons will be affected by it. She's a weak human and can't withstand it's calling to her." Raion explained as he walked towards them. He knew this was going to happen to the girl, even at times he felt he was going to go crazy as well. He caught Inuyasha's death glare towards him and he stopped in his steps. He was stepping into a delicate situation and he knew it. "I'm Raion and yes I'm the same cat that you smelled on her. I kind of saved the Miko last night as that sword was driving her to her end."

"You seem to know a lot about the damn sword," Inuyasha snapped at him. "What's it doing to Kagome!"

Raion sighed and slowly walked towards them. He was at most five feet away from them when he heard Inuyasha growl at him. "I mean no harm," Raion said as he held is hands up. He knelt on the ground and tried to catch Kagome's attention. "Kagome," he said, but her face was deeply buried into Inuyasha's chest as she heavily cried. "Kagome," he said louder and she turned to look at him. "Kagome...say Heruhaundo. Say it."

"H-heru-haundo?" She repeated softly and a wave of calmness washed over. The horrible images in her head were gone and she started to hear the morning birds signing. She felt the sun's warmness through her clothes, giving her an amazing sensation of peace. "Inuyasha?" Kagome murmured as she looked up at him and noticed she was in his arms.

"The Hell-hound?" Miroku repeated. "Is that the name of this sword?"

"No," Raion said as he stood up. "That's the name of it's owner. And let's just say that the sword is never pleased when it's being dominated. But it is deadly afraid if it's true owner, Heruhuando. She could make the sword great or she could break it whenever she wanted."

"Raion..." Kagome looked at him and breathed a sigh or relief. "Thank you. I can't hear it anymore."

He nodded his head at her. "For now, Miko, but if you don't distance yourself soon it will most likely get you again."

But Kagome unwrapped herself from Inuyasha's arms and stood up with her hands positioned on her waist. _Oh no.._.was all Raion could think. _She is the stupidest human and Miko I've ever met_. "I am not going until I destroy that awful thing. You said it's true owner can get rid of it."

"Yes," Raion agreed and crossed his arm over his chest. "But she's been dead for over 2000 years...in a cave...which no one was to find until a stupid human did and exposed the sword again."

"OK, what about her sister? Is she still alive? Can't she control the sword like her sister did?"

"So many questions Miko, you never stop. You would make the most horrible nagging wife ever."

Inuyasha and Miroku laughed clearly agreeing with Raion. On the other hand, Kagome and Sango glared at him. "Inuyasha, SIT!"

Raion gasped as Inuyasha was smacked into the ground, face first, with a spell. He gulped as Kagome's glare was aimed directly at him now. "Look here Missy, only a hell-hound can control that sword OK? There has not been another hell-hound in the family since the first hell-hound died all those years ago. Granted, if you think there must be another hell-hound you're right because she died and her sister was to bear the next hell-hound in the family. I'm telling you honestly, we don't know what happened OK! For over 2000 thousands years the hell-hound spirit has been lost."

"I remember this." Miroku brought his hand up to his chin to think. "My uncle used to tell me about a legend of two powerful sisters who seemed to represent the Day and Night. Unfortunately the sister who represented the night became hungry for power and tried to murder her sister for control over the land and the army. This caused a battle that lasted for days on end until one of the sisters killed the other."

"Well, yes I suppose something of the sort occurred at that time." Raion said.

"So it's not just a fairy-tale?" Sango asked. "My father would tell me that story too, except that the sister who represented the night was the one protecting the land and the sister who represented the day was the one who became hungry for power. In the end the sister of the night was killed."

"Raion, you said 'we' before when you were talking. Who is this 'we'?"

He looked at Kagome and smiled sadly. "Your questions never stop do they Miko?" He took in a deep breath and let it out as he looked straight into her eyes. "I am involved with the Jigoku No Inu family, the family of hell dogs and one hell-hound. Heruhaundo, the night sister, was my best friend growing up. Her sister on the other hand was harder to get along with but none the less we all managed...until the battle broke out." He shut his eyes and reached with one of his hands to hold the side of his head.

Kagome noticed his wincing of pain and walked over slowly to him. "Is...is the sword talking to you?"

"That damn thing is cursed, it takes advantage of any pure hatred or anger it can detect in a living thing. It is hard to say what exactly happened when the sword decides to take advantage." He shook his head and then placed his hands on her shoulders. He squeezed her shoulders tight as said to her. "Miko, another battle is upon us. Remove yourself from here and take your companions far away. Your powers are incredible and you are much more capable of protecting than doggy boy here. I will stay and watch over the sword to make sure it does not cause major damage."

"But the village-"

"The village is done for!" He said sternly. "I will get the sword back into the cave with her. Even in death she is capable of locking the sword away from humans and demons."

She shook off his hands from her. "What if she can't," she said defiantly, "what if that's the reason the sword was found in the first place?"

"Then..." he brushed his hand through his hair and looked up into the blue sky with a slight smile. "The Hell-hound is back to finish the battle."


	2. Jigoku Is Contained by Kagome

Kagome was determined to get to this village despite Raion's warning. She didn't believe him when he said the village was done for. There is always hope, always, and she knew there was still time to save the village.

"Kagome, I don't want to go to this village and I'm not taking you either."

"I need you, Inuyasha! Didn't you hear what Raion said?" She stood stubbornly before Inuyasha.

He scoffed at her words. "I don't listen to stupid cats!"

"Inuyasha," she said as sternly as she could, "Raion said another battle was going to break out because of this sword. We just got out of a battle with Naraku, I don't want to fight again."

"Like I said, I don't listen to stinkin' cats and I'm not letting you go!"

Kagome sighed defeated. Inuyasha gave her the same reaction Raion had given her. They both rejected in helping her destroy the sword and save the village. Sango lightly laid her hand on Kagome's shoulder and softly squeezed it, trying to offer her some comfort. "Maybe they're right, Kagome. You shouldn't try to get near this sword. Maybe this will all sort itself out if we leave it alone. Besides, Raion said he would keep watch over the sword."

Kagome knew better than this. The situation would only get worse, it always does! And Inuyasha would never dare leave her to do anything dangerous alone. She shrugged Sango's hand off her shoulder and reached for weapon. Inuyasha stared at her with disbelief, not understanding why they couldn't get peace after dealing with Naraku's shenanigans for years. For once he didn't want to care for other people but himself, Kagome, and his friends. Yet here she was dragging them into issues again that clearly doesn't need to involve them.

"Kagome, your thinking is not in the right place. You barely slept all night!" Miroku said as he watched her begin her walk alone.

"I'm fine. Shippo let's go!"

Shippo whined but obliged, running to catch up with her. Miroku strode up to Inuyasha and quietly said, "Is it me or is something off about her?" Inuyasha hmped loudly at him.

"That sword looks like it has her possessed if you ask me." Sango said. She slung her own weapon across her and lovingly patted Miroku's cheek. "She's still our friend and we are going to help her out. Let's go guys!"

"Ughhh!" Inuyasha grunted out. "Just one day, _one day, _can we just not think about helping other stupid people! _One day!_" No one paid mind to his angry rant and he angrily followed, dragging last behind the group. He just knew this was going to go bad in the end.

Raion chuckled to himself softly as he eyed the group from far away from on top of a tree. He lazily sat at the very top, his back reclined onto the tree trunk as he swung one leg back and forth in the air. A cool gust of wind swept across his face causing him to breathe in and out a deep sigh. He was astounded by the girl's determination and stubbornness. She had no idea what so ever of what she was getting into. The sword was made in hell with bones and teeth from tortured souls and hot melted dirt mixed with fire. When it surfaced for the first time onto the earth, it wasted no time in sucking blood, souls, and rage into it's metal. Whether it'd be from a demon or a human the sword did not leave scraps behind. This is what made the sword so powerful, it knew what it wanted without hesitation. It's always hungry and it's always searching for something to curve it's hunger. When the Hell-hound created the word, she had created it specifically for herself to have all the power from hell. She made sure only a Hell-hound was capable of handling it as she wasn't stupid, any other life form would abuse it's power and ultimately become a puppet for the sword. But there is something that's itching on Raion's mind. Before she had died they had spent time together on a very rare day where there was peace. On that day they hung out by a beautiful lake during the summer. The air was hot, the grass was cool, the birds rested below the tree's cool shadows and softly sang their songs.

* * *

_"Tell me, dear friend, why are we here again?"_

_She smiled, at nothing, but still smiled. "Why is it so strange to be away from the battlefields?" She asked him._

_His response was to simply stare at her._

_"Is it because we don't smell blood and sweat from our enemies and our men? Because we don't hear men scream and cry? Or because the lake in front of us is made of water and not blood?"_

_"All of the above," he chuckled at her. He sighed and looked at the lake. She was right, it is strange to see beautiful blue water instead of blood. "But...this is not like you."_

_"What do you mean?"_

_He laughed nervously. He may be her best friend but she was still his General. He needed to choose his words wisely and carefully. "Well, you are always at the camp ground training and commanding the army. Or at the dojo sparing by yourself. Why did you ask me today to come out here with you?"_

_She didn't respond to his question immediately. She quietly stood beside him as she gazed out to the lake. After a moment she let out a long sigh and began to bend down. Raion tensed up thinking she was about to fall frontwards right in front of him. But no, she was actually sitting down on the cool grass. It was then he knew something was wrong. He sat down beside her and and pulled her into a hug. She said nothing and let his comfort seep into her. For what seemed the longest time, even longer than their battles, he sat there holding her in his arms. Finally he let her go slowly and watched her as she simply stared down at the grass._

_"I've forgotten that grass is green too," she mumbled to herself but he heard her. He chose not to reply to her comment._

_"What's wrong?" He asked her._

_She closed her eyes and whispered, "I am tired."_

_He tilted his head a bit, confused. "Then you should get more sleep don't you think? You seemed tired the past few weeks but-"_

_"I'm not physically tired you moron." She opened her eyes and snapped at him._

_"Oh..."_

_"I'm tired of fighting, Raion."_

_He chuckled nervously, still confused and not understanding her. "You love to fight. You live to fight! It's your passion and it runs in your blood. Where are these words coming from, Dumplin'?"_

_"You get tired of fighting...for the last 1000 years I've done nothing but fight and I am tired."_

_He half understood and the other half he did not. She was the Hell-hound General. She does her job amazingly good. How can she be tired of doing something she's so good at? "Are you thinking of stepping down as the General?"_

_"Yes."_

_Her reply was so firm and sure that his breath got stuck in his throat. He blinked and turned to look at something else instead of her._ _Was there finally going to be an end to the Battles of the Hell-hound? "Dumplin', does your sister know."_

_"Of course not," she replied, "she's incapable of losing her General, of anything in fact. It's not the right time to tell her_."

_"If you go I'm going with you."_

_She smiled slightly and said, "I'd hope you say that."_

_Another silence swept across them, but this silence was peaceful. Raion wasn't sure if he'd ever feel peace again, but today he finally did. No more fighting...no more killing. Who would then take her place though?_

_"What about being the Hell-hound? That will never go away, you know that. And your sister will want to stay with your weapon."_

_"That's never going to happen," she scoffed. "She knows very well that only I can wield Jigoku._ _And as long am I'm the Hell-hound, Jigoku is bound to me no matter what."_

_He sighed frustrated. "I don't know Dumplin', this is turning into more of a risky situation."_

_"Don't worry my kitty cat," she shot her hand out quick and ruffled his hair. She giggled as he leaned away in protest. "Soon, not only I will be able to wield Jigoku. A human shall wield it as well. And maybe then we can all find peace, including my sister."_

_A human? Raion wondered if she was serious or if she had lost her marbles already. A human will never wield Jigoku, it's impossible!_ _Now she had him completely lost. But, she always knew best so perhaps she already knew exactly what she going to do and what was going to happen. He learned a long time ago not to question her; she is always right_.

_"Come Raion, we must head back to camp before the men notice we are missing. Soon we will be able to spend more peaceful times together." She stood up from the grass, shook her hakamas pants free from grass and dirt, and walked back to camp. Raion remained on the grass contemplating her words._

* * *

A human...will one day wield Jigoku. Could it be this human girl that she meant? Raion sighed as he lost sight of the Miko and her group. He turned his head and gazed into the forest. "Wherever you are Dumplin', protect that Miko and give her the strength to wield that sword." He quietly and swiftly followed the group. He wanted to see that even in death, she would still be right about a human wielding Jigoku.

Kagome could feel the sword's aura pulsing through the air the closer she got to the village. She was so demanding to get there that a roughly three days walk turned into one. By nightfall the village was just a few miles walk from them. And every-time Kagome was being overpowered by the sword, a simple thought of the name Heruhaundo shut the sword out. But the sword was starting to become resistant to the name, almost as if it started to acknowledge that the hell-hound was not truly around.

"Um... Kagome?"

Kagome looked down at Shippo who was trembling. "K-kagome, I smell a lot of blood in the air." He was frighten beyond belief.

Inuyasha scooped Shippo into his arms and looked coldly at Kagome. "He's right, it reeks of it. I'm feel nothing but dread Kagome...and that's not good."

Kagome turned to look at Miroku and he looked pale and deep in thought. He noticed her stare at him and gave a firm nod to her. "I am positive now that the sword is not from here."

Kagome nodded in return and bowed her head in defeat. "It came from hell."

"How do you know that?" Inuyasha asked her.

She walked over and took Shippo into her arms, cradling him tightly. "Because it told me," she said looking deeply into his worried eyes. "Let's go Inuyasha. Raion was right, from here I can feel there is nothing left to save from the village. Perhaps I can go back home and do some research."

_"You are a weak pathetic mortal..."_

Shippo yelped and buried his face into Kagome's chest.

"I can hear the sword? Is it just me!" Inuyasha said out loud worriedly.

"No I heard it, too!" Sango replied.

_"Free yourself from those pathetic fools...Kill them! Come to me and we will kill anything worthless...I will give you all the power you want..."_

The demonic whisper could be heard all around them, with horrible screams in the background begging for help. Kagome could see Kirara with her hair standing on her back, Miroku embraced Sango as both were frighten, and Inuyasha needless to say seemed so weak in front her. She knew the sword was seeping dread and agony into Inuyasha, she could see now that it's affecting him just as like it affected her the first time.

"That is it!" Kagome screamed and set Shippo down. "Stay here! I'm going to end this once and for all!" She sprinted into the forest as fast as she could. Only to have a hand grab her arm roughly and stop her.

"No Kagome!" Inuyasha said, pleading her with his eyes not to go.

"Sit Inuyasha!"

He smacked into the ground and without anything holding her back, she continued her run to the village. She had never ran so fast before. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest and every breath she took felt like knives scraping against her throat. Her calves began to burn and tire out, causing her to trip on every branch she couldn't see in the dark. Finally after almost thirty minutes of running with short breaks in between, she literally stumbled upon the village and fell onto the ground exhausted. She fell with a big 'oof' and dug her nails into the cold dirt. She could hear thousands of souls screaming inside her head, begging for help to escape. She slowly looked around and saw only death surrounding her. She began to sob knowing she couldn't save the village in time. She closed her eyes instead, not wanting to look at the dead villagers in front of her. She picked herself up from the floor into a sitting position. She took in a deep breath to relax her but immediately regretted it. The air stunk so much of blood that a metallic after-taste was left inside her mouth. She opened her eyes and once again grimaced at the sight. None the less she forced herself to stand up and even though her legs almost gave up, she stood proud and strong. There was no way in hell she would let this sword defeat her. As she carefully walked around the bodies on the floor, the sword began to laugh. It was mocking her and she knew it.

In the distance she finally saw the sword after navigating deeper into the ruined village. The damn sword was levitating in the air and Kagome could not believe it. It glowed a deep red, its black sheath was beautifully engraved with a red wolf engulfed in flames on both sides. It was a Katana, long and thin, with the handle wrapped in a red cloth. _How can something so beautifully crafted come from hell, _Kagome thought. She balled her hands into tight fists and walked up to the sword. She had so much anger at this point that she could not feel the dread. All she felt was anger...she was angry how this sword murdered an entire village, how it affected her...

She slowly reached out and without warning the sword plastered into her hand by itself. In an instant Kagome was in a dark cave and not at the village. A corpse of bones, almost dust really, lay on the ground. She looked into the skull's empty sockets that were immediately replaced with beautiful deep blue eyes. The skull morphed into the face of a young woman with blue eyes, black hair tied into a low messy bun, directly looking at her. The woman seemed just as shocked as Kagome did. Kagome wanted to say something to her but no sound would come out of her mouth. The woman said something as well but Kagome could hear nothing being said. The woman's eyes moved onto the sword that was in Kagome's hand...her hand slowly reached for it but halfway there, she retreated her hand back. Her fingers rubbed against each other and then removed a bracelet from around her wrist and held it out in the air. Without thinking, as she was already lost in the situation that was occurring before her, Kagome somehow grabbed the bracelet. She watched as the woman smiled, almost as if she chuckled at Kagome, and laid back onto a bed and closed her eyes. The lost contact with her deep blues eyes pulled Kagome back with extreme force. Sure enough she felt herself hit the ground again, this time with more force that caused pain to run through her back. She grunted as she tried to sit up, but she was so dizzy that she chose to continue laying on the ground.

_"She lives..."_

Kagome's breath slowed as she heard the demonic sword speak very weakly. She began to register that she held the sword in one hand and in her other hand she held a item with string. She bolted quickly into a sitting position...and observed her surrounding. She was in the village again but this time it felt different. Death and blood were still in the air but the demonic presence was not. The sword laid very calmly in her hand, not evening emitting any kind of aura.

"Kagome!"

"Inuyasha!" She responded as she turned to look at him.

Inuyasha's slowed to a walk as he got near her. "Kagome, you're holding the sword!"

"Haha yeah...I am," she said nervously. She stood up and dusted the dirt off the best she could. Then she looked at the sword in confusion, she couldn't get it off the floor!

"What the heck!" She said aloud and grunted as she managed to bring the sword to stand on the tip. "How is it so heavy?!"

Inuyasha laughed and she glared at him, "Don't laugh Inuyasha! I swear this thing is so heavy!"

"That's cause you're a girl. Here let me help you-"

"No!" She screamed and stood in front of it. "If I'm not the one holding it, it's going to break loose again."

"How do you know that?" He asked her.

How did she know that? She remembered the visions she saw and went back to when the woman said something. She had said, _"Never let this sword out of your hold for any reason. Find me and bring it to me." _In the vision Kagome had heard nothing but the sound was somehow embedded in her memory. _"She lives..."_ She had also heard the heard sword say when her visions were over. _She lives...the hell-hound still lives. But the skeleton I had seen...it was her and..._

She gasped and looked at Inuyasha. "She lives, Inuyasha!"

"What," he asked confused, "I said how do you know you're the only one who can hold sword? And what's this about 'she lives'?"

"Can't you feel anything different, Inuyasha?" She asked him.

He simply rose one eyebrow at her in response. Sango and Miroku landed on the ground and dismounted Kirara. Kirara transformed back into her small size with a loud meuuw. "Kagome," Miroku began, "you're holding the sword and you're locking it's power away!"

"Kagome...I'm so glad you're ok!" Sango ran to her and hugged her tight. "Don't you ever run off like that again, you hear me!"

"There isn't a demonic presence in the air.. " Inuyasha answered her question.

Kagome pulled away from Sango's hug and said excitedly, "Exactly! The hell-hound lives which is why the sword is so quiet!"

"But the hell-hound is dead Kagome..." Miroku replied.

"Miroku, you know the answer just like I do."

Miroku sighed and nodded his head, "She has reincarnated hasn't she?"

"Yep!" Kagome laughed happily. "All we have to do is find her and get her to destroy the sword."

"Ugh!" Inuyasha groaned loudly. "Just for one day, a week at least, can't we just rest? I'm tired of all this running around trying to find people who are hiding every, single, time!"

"No Inuyasha, we'll rest once this sword is destroyed." She replied hotly to him.

"Hey, Kagome, what's that?" Shippo said as he bounced over to her and pointed at her hand.

She opened her hand and saw the bracelet the woman had given her. As she inspected it closer she noticed a little cat pendant made of metal hung from it. The cat pendant was so old that the silver metal showed signs of rust and contained scratches on it's surface. The string used was made of a blue color and then she noticed something she couldn't believe.

Inuyasha noticed and he walked over to take a look. "What's wrong with it?" All he saw was a bracelet that contained a stupid cat on it.

She balanced the sword against her hip and with both hands she stretched out the bracelet. She shook her head as she looked at it with wide eyes.

"Where'd you get it?"

"The hell-hound gave it to me. When I touched, well when the sword touched me, I thought I had visions." Kagome replied to Inuyasha. "First I was in cave with the hell-hound's skeleton and then I saw her alive in front of me. I really thought they were visions but I actually traveled through time again."

Inuyasha laughed nervously at her. "You're joking right? It's impossible for you to travel through time without the bone eaters well."

"I thought so too, " she said and stretched the bracelet multiple times in his face. "This bracelet contains elastic string, something that doesn't exist here yet. She reincarnated to my time era, 2500 and years later."


	3. The Cat Charm

Today was not a good for her, nothing seemed like it could go right for once. She should know better, she should be used to it by now, but she's sure she'll never get used to it anytime soon. It's a very big change for her...and she sighed once again. Her foot had stepped into a slimy, warm, fresh hair ball spat up by one of her cats. "Who was it!" She yelled into the air and stared at the culprits. It was impossible to tell which one did it, and both cats knew this as they looked at her with uncaring eyes. "You little turd heads, you guys are lucky I can't tell who it was!" Suko, her baby girl cat as she called her often, lay on top of one of the kitchen counters with her tail flicking in the air. Suki, her big boy cat, sat underneath the counter on the floor licking his paws and wiping his face and behind his ears.

"Are you talking to the cats again? You do know that they can't understand you right?" A teenage girl passed by the kitchen giggling.

"Why aren't you at school, Manami?" She turned and yelled at her. She lifted her foot and hopped to the counter to reach the nearest kitchen cloth she could find.

The teenage girl, Manami, stuck her head into the kitchen doorway. "Um, because you forgot to renew my metro ticket..._again_."

She froze with the cloth still on her foot. _Oh no I forgot again! _She threw the cloth into the sink and turned to Manami, "Ok take the bike."

Manami looked at her with somber eyes. "The brakes broke a month ago and a month ago you said you would fix it, but you haven't yet."

"Are you kidding me right now..." She hissed to herself. _Alright no problem, I'll just get her a taxi-_ **splat...**

Manami tried to hide her laughter. "You should have cleaned up the puke before cleaning up your foot. It's ok, sis, I'll just tell our neighbor to give me a ride. I'll see you later! Bye!" She roared with laughter as she walked out of the house. Her sister may not be very good at parenting but she was trying her hardest.

Again she hopped on one foot to get another kitchen rag. She wiped her foot clean and proceeded with caution as she walked towards the cat puke and cleaned it up. "I'm sorry Manami..." she whispered quietly. She honestly felt truly bad that she couldn't give Manami proper parenting. The sudden death of their parents two years ago had left a huge hole in their small family, and she was never prepared to raise a teenager.

"Gahhh-ack!"

"Ahhh, who is it!" She snapped her head towards the direction of the gagging noise and ran to it. "SUKI!"

Fortunately he had not spat anything up yet. And her screams frightened him so much it sent him scattering out the back door. She huffed angrily and turned to walk back to the kitchen where she turned on the stove to boil water in a pot. The least she could do is start dinner already because knowing how her luck is going, she's capable of leaving Manami without dinner..._again_. She measured out her rice and water and proceeded to make steamed rice. "Move baby girl," she said as she shooed Suko off the counter. Rice balls and sashimi would be dinner tonight, with hot tea and an assortment of fresh cut fruit. She opened the fridge to take a look of what fruits she had and was happy to see she had apples, strawberries, and persimmons. The fruit was cool to the touch as she gathered it and took it out. She washed, peeled, and washed again and began to cut the fruit into small pieces. By the time she was done her steamed rice was done as well. She took the pot off the stove and brought it over to the sink to fluff it up, move it to another container, and wash the pot. But as she was fluffing the rice up she smelled burning meat...no it was burning hair. The smell was extremely strong and she whipped her head to look behind her. Suko was twirling on top of the counter beside the stove trying to see why her own tail had smoke coming out of it.

"Suko!" She screamed and forgot about the rice. The rice promptly fell out of the pot and into the sink.

She rushed over, turned the stove off, and grabbed the cat's tail and started to blow on it. She whined worriedly as she saw her breath spark tiny flames on her tail. Suko squealed as she was man-handled roughly as her owner shoved her upside side down underneath her arm, tightly holding her tail in the air for whatever reason she couldn't understand why. Then the human did the unthinkable to her...she shoved her entire tail underneath her most hated enemy! Suko meowed angrily and hissed as the water touched the lower half of her body. She wasted no time in digging her claws into her stupid human's thigh and dug her teeth into her side. The stupid human screamed and once she let her go, Suko landed on the floor and with a quick shake she ran out of the kitchen, leaving a water trail behind her.

Her hair bun was destroyed as a couple of black hair strands escaped and fell over her face. She looked at the rice with disdain in the kitchen sink, it was all wet and covered with burnt cat hair. She rested her lower back on the counter behind her and propped her hands on it, elbows sticking up in the air. "I can kill hundreds of demons in a battle yet I can't manage two cats and a teenager..."

_Looks like it's going to be fast food for dinner tonight...at least we'll have some fresh fruit. _She turned around to clean the sink, but unfortunately she turned around too fast on her feet, and she slipped taking the fresh fruit in the bowl down with her.

"AAARRRGGHHH!" The house literally shook with her frustrated scream.

* * *

"Inuyasha, why do you hate Raion so much?" Kagome asked as she lay beside him on the grass.

Inuyasha had his eyes closed, face pointing towards the warm sun. His arms made a cushion behind his head, the sleeves rolled all the way down revealing his pale skin that desperately needed a bit of sun. "He's a stupid cat."

She giggled at his response. "Buyo's a cat and you love him."

"Because he's a real cat, not a demon ok! Buyo is soft and cuddly, and I can hug him whenever I want!"

She giggled even more, "So you only like real cats uh? Weird."

"It's not weird, Kagome. Now hush up."

"Sheesh," she mumbled, "since when did you become a peace maker?" He stayed quiet instead of responding to her comment. She sighed, "Inuyasha...I have a test at school next week and how am I going to walk around school with a sword on me?"

He scoffed, "You humans are weird in your time. Have you seen those horseless carriages that run by themselves? Those things can kill easy yet you don't carry anything around to protect yourselves from them."

"They're cars, Inuyasha. And they don't kill humans as often as you think. And anyway what's your point here?"

"I doubt it and my point is that humans are weird."

"I was thinking I could go back home this weekend, with you, so we can have two days to search for the hell-hound." She said, deciding to ignore his previous comment.

"Kagome," he opened his eyes and looked at her, "I don't know what she looks like! I don't even know her scent! Is she even a demon because in your time they're are very little demons around."

She laughed nervously at him, "That's easy, she has dark hair and blue eyes!" Inuyasha looked like he was about thump Kagome on her head and she knew it, too. "Ok, ok, perhaps a lot of people have dark hair and blue eyes."

"Exactly." He pointed his face towards the warm sun and closed his eyes again.

She sighed a bit defeated. "I wish Raion could cross time with me. Maybe he could find her easy since he knows what she looks like."

"That stupid cat couldn't even cross over a mouse without getting scared!" He proclaimed loudly.

Suddenly a rather huge, brown, furry spider smacked itself right onto Inuyasha's face. His eyes went cross-eyed as he looked at the spider and after 3 seconds he screamed and accidentally flung it towards Kagome as he jumped into the air. Kagome in return screamed as the spider latched itself onto her arm and was unable to shake it off. At this point Raion leaped towards Kagome from out of nowhere and grabbed a hold on her arm. But as he went for the spider, it jumped away from them immediately and just as quickly buried itself into a hole in the grass.

"You little bugger..." Raion mumbled to himself as he released Kagome and dug into the fresh hole. "...Ugh, come here...I just wanted to play damn it!"

Inuyasha was burning with rage and humiliation, and like lighting he went to smack Raion's head. His hand wasn't even five inches away when Raion reached back and halted his hand in mid air with his own smack.

"Do not touch me, you mongrel."

"Why you...what the hell are you doing here anyway!?" Inuyasha screamed at him.

Kagome scurried away from Raion and stood up quickly, whining softly from the fear that still lingered. Raion looked up at Inuyasha, still squatting on the ground with one hand down the hole and said, "To be honest, I wanted to know how the Miko dealt with the sword."

"I have it..."

Raion turned to Kagome. "You...have it?"

"Yeah," she replied and pointed down to the ground beside her backpack. "It's too heavy to carry and it locked itself away. There's no aura emitting from it and no one can pull it out of the sheath."

"Of course no one can pull it out, it literally takes a god to wield it. But, the sword can only be locked away if the hell-hound personally does it..."

Kagome laughed nervously and said, "The sword took me through time and I saw her-"

"She's dead." Raion replied a bit angry and very coldly as he stood up. He will admit that he was angry over someone telling him such an awful joke that his best friend was somehow still alive.

"Raion, she is alive! She reincarnated to my time, 500 years from now."

"What do you mean reincarnated to your time? The way you are dressed...I mean it would make sense."

Kagome looked down at her school uniform and she laughed nervously. "I'm sorry Raion, yes I am from the future. I can travel through time through a well called the Bone Eaters well."

Raion looked at her with disbelief. He couldn't believe his friend had reincarnated into the future. He wondered if she was a human or a demon, or is she still a hell-hound or not? If she still is the hell-hound then it would make sense why a hell-hound hadn't been born into the family for almost 2000 years now. But a hell-hound chooses, the person doesn't get to choose. How did she manage to persuade a god to leave her powers untouched?

Burning with curiosity he finally spoke, "Is she a human?"

Kagome set her hand on her chin, with one finger tapping her bottom lip as she thought. "She looked human to me, with black hair and blue eyes. She was tan and rather a bit taller than me. Honestly, she looked normal."

Raion sighed sadly, "She looks very different then."

Kagome heard his voice crack with sadness. She was going to comfort him when Inuyasha rudely interrupted and said, "What did you expect her to look like huh? A big demonic dog roaming in Kagome's world, ha yea right!"

"She didn't look like a demonic dog...most times," he chuckled nervously. "No, she was tall. With hair so golden it appeared almost white with ruby red eyes and skin as pale as the moon-"

"You speak of her like you were in love with her!" Inuyasha cackled at him.

Raion stared at him blankly, as Inuyasha continued to laugh. Kagome glared and sharply jabbed at Inuyasha's side with her elbow. Taking her hint he stopped laughing and looked at Raion..."Oh jeez, you were in love with her."

"I only cared for her, simply more than I should have." Then something caught is eye that was wrapped around the sword's handle. It glinted perfectly in the sun, as if it was in the correct spot all along to catch his eye. He focused his eyes and jabbed his head forward until his eyes made out a silver charm in the form of a cat, that sat with its tail wrapping around its feet. He immediately recognized it and finally believed Kagome's word.

"That is mine," he said as he went towards the sword and bent down, gently picking up the charm with one hand. "It's a charm given to all demon cats in my family, I left my charm with her when she died."

Kagome stayed quite, not really knowing what to say. She already felt as if he didn't believe her about the hellhound's reincarnation and she didn't want to make things worse. "If it's yours you can take it back. I don't know why she gave it to me in the first place."

"No..." Raion whispered. "She has embedded her power in the charm to lock the sword away. I believe you Miko..."

"You can call me Kagome!" She happily replied him.

Inuyasha groaned and interrupted, "Don't let that stinking cat call you by name Kagome! And, if she lives in your world, how the hell are we going to pass her through time?"

"Then we'll take the sword to her to destroy." Kagome replied as she placed her hands on her hips.

"Destroy?" Raion stood and laughed.

"What's so funny huh!?" Inuyasha yelled at him.

"The sword cannot be destroyed so easily. The hellhound must be killed in order for the sword to be vanquished." Raion explained to him.

Inuyasha cracked his knuckles and chuckled, "Good, at least I get to kill something that's causing me this stress."

"There will be no killing!" Kagome shouted at him.

"It's a demon, Kagome, why do you care!" He shouted back at her.

"We don't know that, Inuyasha! She could be human and I won't let you kill a human!"

"So what, the sooner we get ride of this problem the sooner we can go back to normal!"

"You two should really settled down already...or are you mated to each other already?" Raion asked as he laughed at them.

Kagome blinked and suddenly blushed, "What? No!" She pushed Inuyasha away not realizing when she had gotten so close to him. She took in a deep breath to calm herself down and said, "Look Inuyasha, let's find her first. I feel she might know what to do with her sword to keep all of us safe in this time and my time. We just have to find her first ok!"

"Fine!" Inuyasha huffed at her and jumped into a nearby tree. "Then _you_ go find her because I ain't going to help you! All of this is a bad idea, I know it!"

"Fine you-you...ughhh! I hate you so much Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed at him from the top of her lungs. She suddenly whipped her head towards Raion causing him to flinch backwards away from her. "I will find her and get her to destroy this sword!" She stomped her foot and with all her force picked of the sword and began to drag it away. Once she was a good distance away Raion spoke.

"She is the most stubborn, stupidest, and loudest human I have ever met."

"You don't know the half of it." Inuyasha grumbled.


	4. The Hellhound Reappears

"Lord Sesshomaru...the sword has gone quiet!" Jaken pointed out.

"I know." Sesshomaru replied with great annoyance.

"What does that mean Master Jaken? Can Lord Sesshomaru still get the sword?" Rin asked as she sat a top of Ah-un.

"Quiet girl! This means the sword has found it's true master-"

"No it has not." Sesshomaru interrupted him.

"Mi' Lord?" Jaken said meekly.

Sesshomaru scoffed and said very lowly just so Jaken's ears can hear, "That girl that travels with my idiotic brother...she has the sword under her protection for a short time."

Jaken chuckled as evilly as he could. "Then it should be an easy task taking the sword from her...like taking candy from a baby hehe- OWW!" He yelled in pain as he grabbed his head and looked back at Rin.

"That's bad Jaken! You never take candy from a helpless baby!" She scolded him as she pointed the staff of two heads at him.

"You stupid girl! Of course I don't do that! I was giving a mere example to Lord Sesshomaru!" He screeched back at her.

"Silence." Sesshomaru demanded and both Rin and Jaken complied immediately. Sesshomaru suddenly jumped and flew away without telling his trio were he was going. It was for the best to keep both their opinions out of his life and this will also ensure to keep them in place so they may be safer. He knew what dangers this sword held, seeing firsthand his powerful father refuse to wield it when he was given a chance a long, long time ago. Sessshomaru was a young boy not fully understanding the situation at that time, but now he has a chance to investigate how truly powerful the sword is now that it has been unearthed once again. _Humans are more dogs than I am_, Sesshomaru thought as he traveled, _they never stop digging where they shouldn't be digging in the first place_. _And that cat_, he thought angrily now, _that cat will hide the sword again if I am not fast enough._

* * *

Manami slammed the door open to her house and happily flung her shoes into the air. She threw her backpack onto the floor and her sweater as well. "Sakura!" She screamed as she ran into the living room to see the lights turned off and no one in there. Again she ran through her house and burst into the kitchen. "Sakura!"

Sakura looked up from her cup of tea with annoyance aimed her younger sister. "Manami, how many times have I told you not to run and scream around the house."

She laughed and picked up Suko as the cat rubbed against her leg affectionately. "I can't help it, especially when I have good news!"

"Thank goodness," Sakura sighed as set her cup down on the table, "I could use some good news after the day I've had today."

"Some friends are going hiking to the mountains this weekend and I was wondering if you would let me go...they are leaving tomorrow morning."

"Depends, how old are they? Will boys be going? What time will you go and be back? Are other-"

Manami groaned and set the cat down. "Sakuraaa- you're not my mom. You're suppose to be my big cool sister who will let me go without questions..."

"No."

"No...what do you mean no!? You never let me go anywhere Sakura, at least let me hang out with some friends this weekend!"

"You can hang out with friends but not hang out with them in a mountain alone for three days. The answer is no."

"This isn't fair! You're not my mom!"

Sakura picked up her cup of tea and sipped it without breaking eye contact with her sister. "You're only 14 years old. Go finish your homework you have over this weekend so you won't stress when Monday comes. And then come down to eat dinner."

"I'm not hungry!" She yelled back at her and and ran upstairs where she slammed herself into her room.

"Keep slamming my doors in this house and next time I can promise you'll having nothing to slam, not even when you use the bathroom!" Sakura yelled in response.

Manami screeched in her room and Sakura sighed as she crossed her arms over her chest and began to think. _Manami has too much energy pent-up, it's time she finds something to release it. She's strong, fearless, and hyperactive. Perhaps she can help me with my plans if I can train her enough. But she's still so young and a human, it makes her so fragile to a battle field. Later I will talk to her but for now there is something I must do_.

Sakura walked outside to her backyard and walked over to a little shed she had. Suko and Suki followed behind her as they meowed loudly, knowing they were going to get fed. She grabbed their bowls off a shelf, scooped cat food into the bowls, set the bowls on the floor, and looked up at the beautiful sunset. The colors ranged from deep blue to purple and orange. No matter how many sunsets she had seen in her lifetimes, they never bored her nor ever made her sad. To her, sunsets were a beautiful ending to a day...or a lifetime. She sat on the ground to continue watching the sunset and Suko left her food to run over and jump onto Sakura's back. There she buried her face into Sakura's hair and began to purr softly. Sakura smiled and lifted left her hand to pet her and Suko happily buried her face into her hand and closed her eyes in bliss. These were the moments Sakura treasured the most. Jealous at seeing what was happening before his eyes, Suki licked the bits of food that stuck to his whiskers and walked over to seek attention as well from Sakura.

Night fall arrived with a full moon high in the sky. Manami's tantrum had been replaced by determination to go the mountains with her friends. She'd rather die than let her sister trap her home all weekend with home work and chores. Nope, Manami had bigger plans alright. She had taken a grey hiking back pack out of her closet and began to pack what she needed for two days. Cute Shirts, check- Cute short, check- Cute shoes, check! Along with more items and checks, she was already packed in under thirty minutes. Now all she had to do was call up a friend tonight that would let her spend the night and in the morning they were off for a great weekend of hiking in the mountains. Manami slung the back pack onto her back, turned off the lights to her room, built a quick den of pillows under her blankets to make it seem as if she was sleeping, and tippy toed out of her room. As she came down the stairs very slowly she passed by the back door, where she noticed her sister cuddling up to their cats in the back porch. She held her breath in and continued her slow and steady walk until she reached the front door and left to begin her fun with her friends.

* * *

Kagome was less than a mile away from the bone eaters well. All she had to do was pack up her stuff in her back pack and head home. And this time she was going to stay home all week whether Inuyasha liked it or not. As she stomped through the thick forest, with a full moon giving her plenty of light and the village lights in the distance giving her strength to keep walking, all of a sudden the sword rumbled slightly and pulsated energy out of it. She stopped walking and stared down at the sword in her hand, her hand shaking in fear. She sensed Inuyasha's brother, Sesshomaru, and the sword sensed him as well. Was the sword breaking out of the bond or simply sensing a stronger demon around it? Kagome didn't which one was and without hesitation she dropped the heavy sword to ground in front of her and prepared an arrow on her bow. "I know your're here Sesshomaru! Come out!"

"Your powers have indeed grown. I am slightly impressed." Sesshomaru spoke as he appeared from the darkness of a tree's shadow. "You retrieved Tessaiga once, and now you posses an even more powerful sword in your care. Tell me you, you wretched human, how is it possible you come to find things of great value before anyone else?

_Geeze, just went I thought I got complimented by his brother he still insults in the end. _"You listen here Sesshomaru, this sword is not mine and it's not yours. Keep on a walking and I'll forget we ever had this situation." Kagome said as she pulled her arrow on the bow to get a stronger shot if he chose to come near her.

"You are tiresome with your unmeaningful threats." He hissed at her angrily and with lighting speed he smacked the bow out of Kagome hands and retrieved the sword from the ground. Kagome landed on the ground with a loud yelp of pain and her arrow lost as she shot it accidentally when Sesshomaru pushed her down. She sat on her knees and watched as Sesshomaru struggled to pull the sword out of the sheath. He pulled with all of his might, changing his stances to get a better grip on the handle, and softly grunted as he used all of strength.

Wasting no time, Kagome's hands searched for her bow and an arrow through the dark ground full of dead leaves. Sure enough she was quick to find them and as fast as she could she pulled the string back with an arrow loaded on it, and shot straight towards Sesshomaru's chest. Sesshomaru growled at the annoyance and without thinking, he used the sword's sheath to block the arrow in his path. But... it did more than block. Her miko powers were strong enough to break the bracelet wrapped around the sword's handle the moment the arrow's tip touched it.

She gasped, "No! Oh no! What have I done?" She flung her bow away, stood up, and ran to grab the sword back. Of course Sesshomaru would not let go of it and both of them held onto the sword and stared in awe as it emanated a blue light from it and engulfed them. "Sesshomaru you have to let go, it's too dangerous!"

But he was too deep in the power of the sword to even listen to a single word Kagome said. And just as his demonic smile grew with red tinting his eyes and Kagome about to loose her shit indefinitely, and she was sure she was wearing her last pair of under wear, Sesshomaru croaked just a bit as his head bounced slightly to the back a few times. Kagome blinked in confusion as she stared at him and he also stared back her with mild confusion.

"Can I please have my sword back? It really shouldn't be in either of your hands."

A slight rustle sounded from Sesshomaru's hair as it was pulled back a couple of more times. Without letting go of the sword, Sesshomaru whipped around with one hand to kill whoever had dared touched his personal being. But his poisonous hand was stopped as another human held his hand in hers. She was definitely _not_ human.

"I hate repeating myself. And I can tell you are of some sort of royalty, a Lord perhaps. From one royal to another royal, I will kindly ask you to give me my personal belo-_ooof!_" Sesshomaru didn't let her finish and with one push of his hand he threw backwards onto the ground.

Kagome gasped angrily as she saw what Sesshomaru had done to...the hellhound! "You jerk!" Kagome yelled and pushed Sesshomaru, only to have herself pushed back because geeze, she could guess that guy had grown into a stone! She ignored her defeat and knelt beside the woman on the floor. "Are you ok? Oh gosh it's you! It's really you, the hellhound! My powers must've let you traveled through time..."

Sesshomaru scoffed and turned his attention away from the idiotic girls back to removing the sword from it's sheath, but was once again met with resistance. But that's when it caught his attention; the girl was dressed far more stranger than his brother's wench. He eyed her, his hand carefully protecting the sword from being taken from him, and noticed two things that stood out from her; she was tan and she wore pants made for men...and the pants were a little too tight on her for his liking.

Noticing his observational gaze on her, she grinned at him. "Sorry for my appearance if it bothers you. Being thrown through time unexpectedly because a demon is fighting to gain control over my sword and being flung to the dirty ground, does no wonders for my looks."

"It doesn't look as if you had looks to begin with..." he snorted softly at her.

Kagome, unable to say anything at Sesshomaru's retort, simply stared at him with wide eyes. The girl on the floor laughed rather angrily and lowly before deciding to stand up.

"Tell me, demon, if you cannot draw the sword from it's sheath why do you intend to keep it? Do you need something to scratch your back with? I will say that sword does give wonderful back scratches, haven't had one in almost a thousand years thinking about it."

"How are you capable if willing this sword? You are but a lowly being." He responded.

At that moment the sword in his hand didn't take too well the second insult aimed at her and before he knew or even had a chance to let go of the sword, it began to burn his hand intensely. It was so intense in fact that it prompted his hand to freeze from the pain and he was unable to let go. He growled in pain and fell to his knees, still unable to let go.

"It's hurting him! Hellhound, do something!" Kagome began to plead seeing Sesshomaru's eyes begin to fade into a state that she had been in not too long ago when she had first held the sword.

"My name is Sakura," the hellhound said as she strode up to Sesshomaru. "And I do not _take_ things," she said angrily, "things are given to me willingly. I will ask you for the last time, demon lord, give me back what it is rightfully mine."


End file.
